Subject: RE: hills, hills and more hills!!I'm lucky enough to live in a very hilly area - ridiculous rollers on one side of town, and actual mountain climbs on the other. So I just run and ride. For runs, I frequently make them into hill "intervals" (I use that term liberally) meaning I'll run at just under race pace on the incline and run easy on the declines. I concentrate a lot on my form running uphills - if I think of driving my elbows toward the ground, it forces me to engage my core more, and while not scientific in the least, it seems to work for me. On the bike, I try to climb with a group of stronger riders as often as possible, and play with shifting and acceleration to teach myself to better attack rollers while maintaining speed up and over the crest of the hill. I do not use a computer of any sorts, and (for road cycling at least) riding based on feel, rhythm, and a stubborn refusal to dwell on how "hard" a climb is seems to work for me. All this said, I am a bit unorthodox for a triathlete and about as un-type-A as a dedicated, competitive triathlete can get. Good luck - hills are fun |